World news round-up 26 June 2014

To fight the crime of metals theft, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) has launched a dedicated new website StopMetalsTheft.org. The site is intended to be a resource for law enforcement, prosecutors and the recycling industry. It will do so by providing practical tools, success stories, news, legal resources, FAQs, and background on fighting metals theft. “The recycling industry is fully committed to being part of the solution when it comes to preventing metals theft,” said Robin Wiener, president of ISRI.

Brazil’s recycling of non-metal waste and scrap market grew by 11% to BRL388m (£103m) in 2012, according to a new market research report titled Recycling of Non-metal Waste and Scrap in Brazil. Industry productivity increases over the review period, with increased turnover-per-employee. However, the profitability of the industry declined by 11% in 2012.

Capital city Delhi is said to be at a very high risk due to the generation and lack of disposal of electronic waste (e-waste) by some of the leading multi-national electronic and electrical equipment manufacturing companies. Brands such as Akai, BPL, Blackberry and HCL fared poorly in ratings developed by the researchers at Toxic Link: in all 16 out of 50 international and national companies did badly. Apple, Hitachi, Phillips and Samsung fell into a “not-so-good” performance category in the ratings.

The economic impact of recycling activities in the state of South Carolina grew almost 5% annually to double its impact over an eight-year period. The state’s $13bn (£7.6bn) recycling industry grew to support 54,121 jobs in 2013, a 44% increase over the sector’s employment in 2006. The state also earned $2.7bn in labour income, up 80% from 2006. Research economist Frank Hefner complied the economic impact report through a combination of direct survey data from recycling companies and economic modelling used in a 2006 study.

A project looking at building research capacity and the development of technologies for recycling waste is being implemented by Ha Noi University of Technology in Vietnam. The three-year project that began this year at a cost of $1.5m (£880,000) is being funded by South Korean official assistance. According to Huynh Trung Hai, head of the university’s School of Environmental Science and Technology, the idea of the project is to develop the country’s waste recycling industry, protect the environment, reduce pollution and conserve natural resources.

Florida Governor Rick Scott has signed into law a bill to reduce roadway accidents and fatalities involving waste and recycling employees.

The “Move Over Act” was amended to include sanitation and utility vehicles. Under the law, as cars approach a truck, the driver must merge into the next lane. If changing lanes isn’t possible, cars must slow down to 20 miles below the posted speed limit. The National Waste & Recycling Association supported the bill and is working to move similar legislation forward in other states. The industry-wide campaign geared toward drivers is “Slow Down to Get Around” and serves as a reminder for others to drive cautiously when approaching sanitation trucks.

A similar bill has been supported by state representatives in Georgia. In New York City, legislators went a step further to protect workers after a number of assaults involving sanitation workers grew from 17 in 2010 to 42 in 2011. The law gives sanitation workers the same legal protection as firemen and other uniformed employees.

The war of words between the Environment Agency (EA) and contractor Healthcare Environmental Services (HES) has worsened after the company released a cache of emails and minutes of a meeting marked ‘official sensitive’.

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